The Video Production and Video Marketing Blog

All marketers know that every buy decision has an emotional component. But what if your product is software? How do you take a fairly unemotional product and make it powerful and compelling? Take a look at the video we created for DataRobot, to see how well video can be used to trigger an emotional response in your software buyer.

DataRobot is an automated machine-learning platform that crunches data, and then finds the best predictive models. It helps businesses find solutions based on data.

DataRobot came to us for a marketing video.

It would have been easy to create a video that showed 2D screen captures of the software in action: the mouse moves here and clicks, and we go to the next page. Then the mouse clicks, then we go to the next page.

I’m sure you’ve seen many, many videos like this. The music is upbeat and bouncy, but not too much. It stays in the background and doesn’t distract you from watching the mouse click through the software, as the soothing voice explains the features. You feel reassured and safe.

But DataRobot wanted something very different.

They did not want to position their product as plain old software, and so they did not want to show it the way most other software is shown: page after page after page of the interface, looking exactly as it looks when you use it.

Instead, they wanted to represent the impact their product has on businesses.

They wanted epic.

DataRobot chose to create a very dramatic video. The tone, script, music, and visuals are all epic. As in Big. Powerful. Heart-thumping.

As you can see, the video works brilliantly. But maybe your software isn't a machine-learning platform. Maybe the best mood for you isn't epic.

The key to creating video that successfully markets software…

The primary purpose of your marketing video is NOT to deliver information. Instead, it's to trigger an emotional response, and to cause the viewer to want to find out more.

Like DataRobot, if you look at your video as an emotional connection vehicle, you’ll create a much more powerful marketing tool.

You must create a mood with visuals, voice and music.

The DataRobot video creates an epic mood with music and visuals. The software is shown in 3D space, with lens flares and other visual effects.

Yes, DataRobot is a software tool. But the implicit message of the video is that DataRobot can have an epic impact on your business.

The point is to connect with your viewers’ emotions first, before you share information.

You can include screenshots, and you should, because you do want to show the product you’re marketing. But you don’t have to show it the way it looks when your customers use it. Instead, how you show it can reflect the mood you’re creating.

How do you know what mood to create?

Start with your audience – who are they? DataRobot’s audience is made up of data scientists. And while you may think data scientists are nerdy guys who are rather dull, Data Robot knows that’s very wrong.

What mood fits your audience?

Your software probably isn't like DataRobot's, and so the mood that best fits your marketing video might not be epic. You'll need to drill down, to understand your particular audience. Who are they? How do they see themselves? What problem does your software solve for them? What happens when they solve that problem?

All this information will help you figure out the mood that best fits your video. And if you successfully create that mood, your video will do an awesome job marketing your software product.